A whirlwind tour of china (Beijing and Tianjin) gave me the chance to eat some fabulous food. I toured the night markets with Hias Gourmet Tours (more later), ate Mongolian buffet lunch and lots of other treats along the way. I loved breakfast time. It usually involved sweet bread (chinese bread is very sweet) curried bamboo shoots, fried rice, eggs hard boiled in soy sauce, noodles, stir fried cabbage and congee - a light soup style liquid. Corn congee was like plain thin semolina. Weird but comforting. Such a different offering to our breakfasts of cereal, milk and toast. I like.
Been meaning to write about Beijing Yoghurt. Natural yoghurt flavoured with honey and sold in ceramic pots. Costs around 40p and was delicious and really refreshing. You find it in little shops, street markets and some cafes. It's sometimes chilled (though not always). Make sure you get ones that have been made that day (particularly if they are displayed outside). You pop a straw through the paper lid and sip away. It's unique to Beijing (so I'm told). Try it at home, Take a cup of natural (low fat) yogurt, thinned down with a table spoon of milk (add more if needed to reach drinking consisitency) and flavour with a mild tasting honey. About half to a whole teaspoon full. Perfect.
